[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The GreatViews expressed here are not necessarily the views & opinions of ActivistChat.com. Comments are unmoderated. Abusive remarks may be deleted. ActivistChat.com retains the rights to all content/IP info in in this forum and may re-post content elsewhere.

Heck Cyrus, we insult mullahs on a daily basis here on this forum, so now you say that one cannot address their propoganda in the same manner?

Look, if someone makes an assertion, innuendo or other insulting remark upon your friend, you're going to stand up for your friend if he's not present to stand up for himself , right? Right you are to do so.

Or your mother country too right? Course you would, it's human nature to give back what has been tossed in one's face.

'nuff said.

Be well my friend,

EJ

Oppie,
- Mafia Mullahs are not truely elected officials in Iran, if they were truely elected by a fair election many members of this Forum would not insult them.
- This site is Anti Mafia Mullah site.
- Assume all members in this Forum are Anti Mafia Mullahs otherwise should not become members. The guideline is very clear.
My point was related to members of this Forum that should not insult each other.
Thanks,
Cyrus

My point was related to members of this Forum that should not insult each other.

Point noted.

Quote:

Assume all members in this Forum are Anti Mafia Mullahs otherwise should not become members.

And how many regime agents and appologists have been "86"ed off this site?

Cyrus, as your friend I do understand the point you are trying to make, but NEVER Ever in the buisiness you are in, assume. Very dangerous to do so. I speak in general terms here, not specific to your context or any member.
What do you figure the Mafia Mullah's contract on your head is worth?
Or mine for that matter? You think they would simply silence only the internal opposition if they had the chance?

(I don't require an answer, I just want you to consider these things for your own sake.)

A more subtle form is to blame the dissident's misery on the US for having supported them. Now if a member cannot see this, then they are in dire need of an education, and that's a fact not to question.

Senior Iranian leaders know about the operations of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Qods Force in stirring up violence in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Monday.

The U.S. military has long accused the Qods Force of arming and training Iraqi Shi'ite militants who attack U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. Iran has repeatedly denied involvement in violence in Iraq and blames the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 for the bloodshed.

"Our intelligence reveals that senior leadership in Iran is aware of this activity," U.S. military spokesman Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner told a news conference in Baghdad, in some of the most direct accusations yet about how much Tehran's government knows of such operations.

"We also understand that senior Iraqi leaders have expressed their concerns to the Iranian government about the activities."

Iran does not officially acknowledge the existence of the Qods Force. Military experts and some exiled Iranians say it is a wing of Iran's ideologically driven Revolutionary Guards that operates abroad. They say it reports directly to Iran's top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Revolutionary Guards have a separate command structure to Iran's regular military.

Bergner also said the Qods Force was working with the Lebanese Shi'ite militia group Hezbollah to carry out acts of violence in Iraq.

He said the United States had discovered the existence of three relatively small camps located close to Tehran where Iraqi Shi'ite militants were being trained. Between 20-60 militants were receiving training at any given time, he said.

Iran's government had done little to help improve security in Iraq, he added.

"We have not seen the demonstrable improvement or anything that could be accounted for as a change in behaviour on the part of the government of Iran in reducing these threats and reducing the levels of violence," Bergner said.

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"When Russia and the United States speak along the same lines, it tends to have an effect and therefore I appreciate the Russians' attitude in the United Nations," Bush said. "We're close on recognizing that we got to work together to send a common message."

Putin predicted that "we will continue to be successful" as they work through the U.N. Security Council.

I am not sure there is a complete unity.

White House News wrote:

President Bush Meets with President Putin of Russian Federation
Walker's Point
Kennebunkport, Maine

PRESIDENT BUSH: I wanted to congratulate the President for being the only person that caught a fish. A fine catch. Secondly, I welcome you to my family home.

And we had a good, casual discussion on a variety of issues. You know, through the course of our relationship there have been times when we've agreed on issues and there's been times when we haven't agreed on issues. But one thing I've found about Vladimir Putin is that he is consistent, transparent, honest and is an easy man to discuss our opportunities and problems with.

We talked about nuclear security and made great strides in setting a foundation for future relations between the United States and Russia in dealing with the nuclear security issues. We talked about our bilateral relations, we talked about the relations with countries like Iran and North Korea. We had a very long, strategic dialogue that I found to be important, necessary and productive.

And so I welcome you, Vladimir. Thanks for coming.

PRESIDENT PUTIN: (As translated.) I would like to congratulate us with the good work done.

First of all, I would like to thank the hosts for their invitation. And President Bush for this invitation. Indeed, we had a very nice fishing party this morning. We caught one fish, but that was a team effort, and we let it go to the captain -- (laughter) --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Very thoughtful of you. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT PUTIN: -- the 42nd President of the United States. (Laughter.)

As for the negotiations, negotiations were very substantial. We discussed basically the entire gamut of both bilateral issues and international issues. George listed practically all issues that we've touched upon. And I was pleased to note that we are seeking the points of coincidence in our positions and very frequently we do find them. And I'm very grateful to the Bush family for this very warm, homey atmosphere around this meeting, and we appreciate it very much.

I do believe that we have to learn something from the older generation. And the attitude shown both to me and to the members of my delegation was way beyond the official and protocol needs. And, additionally, we had an opportunity to have a look at this part of the United States, a fantastic place. We've seen the warmth and the very positive attitude of the people around here and use this opportunity to say to them that we appreciate their warmness and we are grateful for their very warm reception of us.

Mind you, the fish that we caught, we've let it free. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT BUSH: A couple of questions. Tony, you going to call on them? Hold on, please. Please. Tony.

Deb, yes.

Q Mr. President, I have a question for either one, or both of you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Either one of us, okay -- or both of us.

Q Both of you. For you, sir, were you successful in getting President Putin's support for tough sanctions, like cargo inspections against Iran?

PRESIDENT BUSH: We spent a lot of time talking about the Iranian issue, and we both agree -- excuse me, go ahead. We spent a lot of time talking about the Iranian issue. I am concerned about the Iranians' attempt to develop the technologies, know-how to develop a nuclear weapon. The President shares that -- I'm a little hesitant to put words in his mouth, but I think he shares that same concern. After all, this is an issue we've been talking about for about six years.

And I have come to the conclusion that when Russia and America speaks with, you know, along the same lines, it tends to have an effect. And, therefore, I appreciate very much the Russian attitude in the United Nations. I have been counting on the Russian's support to send a clear message to the Iranians, and that support and that message is a strong message, and, hopefully, we'll be able to convince the regime that we have no problems with the people in Iran, but we do have a problem with a regime that is in defiance of international norm. And so we discussed a variety of ways to continue sending a joint message.

And, by the way, one other issue that I didn't mention in my opening my comments that I think you'll find interesting is that President Putin proposed a regional approach to missile defense; that we ought to work together bilaterally, as well as work through the Russia-NATO Council. And I'm in strong agreement with that concept.

That's all I've got to say, Deb. Have you got something else?

Q Well, I still would like to know --

PRESIDENT BUSH: You just got wedged out, sorry.

Q I still would like to know if you're far apart on how tough the sanctions should be.

PRESIDENT BUSH: We're close on recognizing that we've got to work together to send a common message.

Q Okay.

PRESIDENT PUTIN: So far, we have managed to work within the framework of the Security Council, and I think we will continue to be successful on this front. Recently, we've seen some signals coming from Iran with regard to interaction, cooperation with the IAEA. Mr. Solana also brings us some positive data and information. I think all of this would contribute to further, substantial intercourse on this issue.

Q -- Mr. Putin made a proposal for anti-ballistic missile cooperation between Russia and the United States. And you called it "interesting." In which direction your cooperation? And what's wrong with European countries using this calculation? And if it is no breakthrough in the foreseeable future, maybe it's a time to make a (inaudible)? Thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thanks. It's more than an interesting idea, it's an idea that we're following up on through consultative meetings, which we've started. And as I told you, the President made a very -- I thought a very constructive and bold, strategic move, and that is why don't we broaden the dialogue and include Europe, through NATO and the Russia-NATO Council -- I don't know if want to expand on that, or not.

PRESIDENT PUTIN: Oh, I have to answer that, too? As President Bush has already said, we do support the idea of the continued consultations on this score. At the same time, we do believe that the number of parties to this consultation could be expanded through the European countries who are interested in resolving the issue. And the idea is to achieve this through the forum of the Russia-NATO Council.

But our proposal is not limited to this only. We propose establishing an information exchange center in Moscow. We've agreed on that a few years back; it's time now to put this decision into practice. This is not yet all. A similar center could be established in one of the European capitals, in particular, in Brussels, for example. This could have been a single system that would work on line.

In this case, there would be no need to place any more facilities in Europe -- I mean, these facilities in Czech Republic and the missile base in Poland. And if need be, we are prepared to involve in this work, not only the Gabala radar, which we rent from the Azerbaijanis -- if necessary, we are prepared to modernize it. And if that is not enough, we would be prepared to engage in this system also a newly built radar, early warning system in the south of Russia.

Such cooperation I believe would result in raising to an entirely new level the quality of cooperation between Russia and the United States. And for all practical purposes, this would lead to a gradual development of strategic partnership in the area of security.

As for the Europeans, well, it's their choice; each and every country will have to decide whether it wants to be part of the system or not. But it would be clear to even a layman, if a country doesn't decide in a strategic partnership, this choice would determine the position of any country both in economic terms and on the political arena in the final analysis, in the long term.

Therefore, I'm confident that there will be interstate partners or parties in Europe.

Q Mr. President, six years ago, you seemed to have formed a bond with President Putin, when you said you had gotten a sense of his soul. Do you still feel that you trust him? And how troubled are you by the political freedoms -- the state of political freedoms in Russia?

And President Putin, do you appreciate advice from Washington about democracy in Russia?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Here's the thing when you're dealing with a world leader, you wonder whether or not he's telling the truth or not. I've never had to worry about that with Vladimir Putin. Sometimes he says things I don't want to hear, but I know he's always telling me the truth. And you don't have to guess about his opinions, which makes it a lot easier to do -- to find common ground.

And so you ask, do I trust I him? Yes, I trust him. Do I like everything he says? No. And I suspect he doesn't like everything I say. But we're able to say it in a way that shows mutual respect.

Take missile defense. He just laid out a vision. I think it's very sincere. I think it's innovative. I think it's strategic. But as I told Vladimir, I think that the Czech Republic and Poland need to be an integral part of the system. And the only way I know how to find common ground on complicated issues is to share my thoughts, and that's what he does with me. And so I've had a very constructive relationship.

Obviously, you know -- I'll let him talk about his view of democracy, but I will tell you, at the G8 in St. Petersburg, he did a very interesting thing. You might remember the dinner when you said, anybody who has got any doubts about democracy, ask me questions. And I remember part of my discussions with him about whether or not the -- you know, how -- the relations between the government and the press, you'll be amazed to hear. He strongly defends his views, and you can listen to him yourself, right now. But ours is a relationship where I feel very comfortable bringing up and asking him why he's made decisions he's made.

PRESIDENT PUTIN: Speaking of common democratic values, we are guided by the idea and principle that these are important both for you and for us. In the last 15 years, Russia has undergone a very serious transformation. It has to do with changes in the political system and in the economic system, as well.

Of course, it has considerable social repercussions and consequences. All of these taken together has determined the way our transition and our society has been developing and forming. Even in the, shall we say, sustainable democracies, mature democracies, we see basically the same problems, the same issue that they have to deal with. It has to do with the relationship with the media; it has to do with human rights and the right for private life being beyond the control of the government and the state. If you remember how Larry King tortured the former CIA Director, you would also understand that there are some other problems and issues, as well, in this world. (Laughter.) And I cannot even repeat all the things that were said then.

We have common problems. And we are prepared to listen to each other. The only thing that we would never, never accept is these tools -- this leverage being used to interfere into our domestic affairs to make us do things the way we would do not see fit. In our dialogue, in our contacts with President Bush, we always discuss these things and, as he says, it's frankly and straightly, and we are always constantly engaged in the dialogue geared to making things better in Russia and elsewhere.

I do not always agree with him, but we never engage in paternalism. We do not assume mentors' tone. We always talk as friends.

Q Mr. President, how do you evaluate the relations between Russia and the U.S. right now? Are they in crisis or not? And what is the legacy you are planning to leave to your successor? Also, since for you both this is your final year in office --

PRESIDENT BUSH: Not mine. I've got more than a year. Anyway, nice try. (Laughter.)

Q Since 2008, election year for both of you, do you believe that -- are you going to meet after you are not Presidents any more, or is this your final meeting?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you.

PRESIDENT PUTIN: I do believe that our relationship developed normally, not bad, and they are being strengthened every time we meet. And the relationship between Russia and the United States is entirely different than that between the United States and the Soviet Union. And we are not -- we do not look at each other through the sights of our weapons systems. And in this, I fully agree with my colleague, President Bush.

As for the future, as I already mentioned, we are now discussing a possibility of raising our relations to an entirely new level that would involve a very private and very, shall we say, sensitive dialogue on all issues related to the international security, including, of course, the missile defense issue.

If this is to happen, I would like to draw your attention to this. The relations between our two countries would be raised to an entirely new level. Gradually, our relations would become those of a strategic partnership nature. It would mean raising the level of our -- and improving the level of our interaction in the area of international security, thus leading to improved political interaction and cooperation with a final effect being, of course, evident in our economic relations and situation.

Well, basically, we may state that the deck has been dealt, and we are here to play. And I would very much hope that we are playing one and the same game.

PRESIDENT BUSH: I think we'll see each other in Australia. Secondly, I know we'll be talking on the phone, because there's a lot of issues that we are working together on, which is part of the legacy of this relationship, and that is that it's in the U.S. interest to keep close relations with Russia; and that when it comes to confronting real threats, such as nuclear proliferation or the threat of radicalism and extremism, Russia is a good, solid partner.

Russia has made some amazing progress in a very quick period of time. One of the first conversations I had with Vladimir Putin was about Soviet-era debt. This is a country with no debt. It's got solid reserves. It's a significant international player. It's got a growing middle class. For those old Russian hands who remember what it was like, there's an amazing transformation taking place. Is it perfect from the eyes of Americans? Not necessarily. Is the change real? Absolutely. And it's in our interests -- in the U.S. interests to have good, solid relations with Russia. And that's what Vladimir and I have worked hard to achieve.

And we're going to go continue those relations with a lunch. So thanks for coming.

PRESIDENT PUTIN: Of course we will continue our relations in the future. Today's fishing party demonstrated that we have a very similar -- we share the same passion -- that is, passion.

Q Is Cheney a member of the executive branch?

PRESIDENT BUSH: I didn't hear you.

END 1:00 P.M. EDT

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Opposing view: Don't blink, don't back down
U.S. should maintain pressure on Iran , but avoid engagement
by Michael Rubin
USA Today
July 2, 2007
http://www.meforum.org/article/1709

It may be comforting to believe that, with diplomacy, Washington and Tehran can resolve their differences. But it is dangerous and na�ve. Democracy in Iran is a charade, and factionalism between hard-liners and reformers is a sideshow. Iranians elect a president, but absolute power resides with the supreme leader who rules for life. Because sovereignty resides not with the people, but with God, popular will is irrelevant. What the parliament believes doesn't matter. The Revolutionary Guards, chosen for their loyalty and discipline, answer to the supreme leader. His appointees crush dissent.

What should Washington do? It should not engage. Diplomacy absent Iranian sincerity is dangerous. Between 2000 and 2005, the height of Iran 's reformist period, European Union trade with Tehran tripled. Rather than reform, the regime invested the hard currency into its ballistic missile and covert nuclear program. Today, Iran uses engagement to spin its centrifuges and run the clock.
The United States wants Tehran to stop its nuclear program. Iranians want democracy, not theocracy. Here, interests converge. Although military action can delay Tehran 's nuclear program, it cannot stop it. The real danger isn't Iran 's bomb, however, but the regime that would wield it.

While Europe embraces the China model of trade and dialogue, the Supreme Leader looks to Tiananmen Square . So should Washington . Rather than fund outside groups, Washington should invest in a template for change. No one knew ahead of time the Chinese student who stopped a line of tanks; the important thing was he had the space to emerge. U.S. policy should create such space. Independent labor would make the regime more accountable to its people. Unions could force the regime to invest in schools, not centrifuges. Independent media and communications could let a real civil society to emerge. This takes money. Those denouncing U.S. funding are not the imprisoned student and labor activists, but reformists loyal to theocracy, and gullible pundits. Tehran 's crackdown on dissent predates U.S. support for civil society. And the Iranian overreaction shows both its vulnerability and the efficacy of U.S. pressure.

(CBS/AP) A U.S. military official is charging that Iran is using the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah as a "proxy" to arm Shiite militants in Iraq and that the Quds force — an elite military force in Iran — had prior knowledge of a January attack in Karbala in which five Americans died.

These extremist Shiite militia groups are behind much of Iraq's violence, and although the U.S. army has long accused Iran of funding them, today it went further then ever, pointing a finger directly at the Iranian government, reports CBS News chief foreign correspondent Lara Logan.

"Our intelligence reveals that senior leadership in Iran is aware of this activity," said U.S. military spokesman Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner.

Bergner said a senior Lebanese Hezbollah operative, Ali Mussa Dakdouk, was captured March 20 in southern Iraq. Bergner said Dakdouk served for 24 years in Hezbollah and was "working in Iraq as a surrogate for the Iranian Quds force."

The general also said that Dakdouk was a liaison between the Iranians and a breakaway Shiite group led by Qais al-Kazaali, a former spokesman for cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Bergner said al-Kazaali's group carried out the January attack against a provincial government building in Karbala and that the Iranians assisted in preparations.

These charges will not improve already frosty relations between the United States and Iran, and they come at a time when the U.S. military is under heavy pressure at home to produce results in Iraq, adds Logan.

THE suspected ringleader of a plot to unleash a blitz of car bombs on Britain is an Iranian doctor arrested with his burka-clad wife.

Neurologist Dr Mohammed Asha, 26, and his wife, 27, were dramatically held as they drove on the M6 in Cheshire with their two-year-old son.

Five people were being quizzed — at least two of them medics — as it became clear the attacks in London and Glasgow were by the same gang.

Sources said one of two men held while trying to smash a blazing vehicle into a Glasgow Airport terminal on Saturday afternoon is also a doctor, from Iraq.

Security bosses believe the two men in Glasgow also drove two Mercedes cars laden with petrol and gas canisters used in a failed bid to devastate London’s West End early on Friday.

The Ashas were arrested by officers from a West Midlands counter-terrorism unit at 9.17pm on Saturday.

It is thought the car they were driving flashed up on a number plate recognition camera, which alerted cops to their whereabouts.

Dr Asha and his wife were forced to a stop when their car was boxed in by police in the northbound carriageway near Sandbach, Cheshire.

Their home 12 miles away in a cul-de-sac in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffs, was being searched by forensic officers yesterday.

Dr Asha has just started a job at the North Staffordshire Hospital in nearby Hartshill, Stoke-on-Trent.

But it is feared he may also be the head of an al-Qaeda cell. Anti-terror cops also carried out a search of his locker at the hospital.

A security source said: “It is shocking that a doctor, of all people, could be arrested over an attempt to kill and maim hundreds of people.”

Yesterday neighbours of the doctor said he and his wife had hardly any visitors during their year in the house. But in the past two weeks two Asian men with long beards had turned up in a car on several occasions and stayed the night.

She let the house after emigrating to Dubai and left her son Simon Plant, 33, who lives round the corner, to help service the property.

Lift engineer Simon said: “Dr Asha dressed in Muslim style, with a flat woollen hat, and he sports a beard.

“His wife always wore a burka. He was paying £500-a-month rent and was in many ways the ideal tenant.

“There were lots of medical books lying around. My mum says the doctor had contacted her and said he intended leaving in July.”

Dr Asha and his wife, who is thought to be from the Middle East, were driven to London’s Paddington Green police station, along with a suspect arrested in Liverpool and one of the men arrested at Glasgow airport.

Reports that up to three suspects were still on the run were dismissed last night by security sources speaking to The Sun.

Two Mercedes cars were used in Friday’s failed bid to blast the packed Tiger Tiger club in London.

On Saturday two men drove a blazing Jeep Cherokee filled with petrol and gas canisters into a terminal building at Glasgow Airport. One of them suffered 90 per cent burns after setting himself on fire while crying: “Allah, Allah.”

They are believed to have come from the Middle East a year ago.

Hero Steve Clarkson told how he helped cops grab the burning man as he got out of the car. He said: “I knocked the Asian fellow to the ground. Four police then got on top of him. He was smouldering.”

The bomber is seriously ill. A controlled explosion took place at Glasgow’s Royal Alexandria Hospital where he was being treated yesterday. It is believed a suspect device had been found in a white BMW in the car park.

It emerged that police were hunting the Glasgow terrorists hours before they struck. They tried to get in touch with the letting agent responsible for the house suspects shared in Houston, Renfrewshire.

But their message was only picked up ten minutes before the attack. The house was searched yesterday. Ian Thomson, 25, who lives opposite, said it was occupied by two Asian men. He added: “We thought one was a doctor. He would leave wearing blue scrubs and a stethoscope.” The fifth suspect was arrested in Liverpool on Saturday after cops stopped a car in Lime Street.

Two houses in the city were also raided. Student Declan Murphy, 22, who lives near one of the properties, said: “We thought the two Asian men there were student doctors. I once saw one of them with a stethoscope round his neck.”

Hundreds of people were evacuated at London Heathrow airport last night and an unattended suitcase blown up by the bomb squad. It did not contain explosives.

BAGHDAD -- The U.S. military accused Iran on Monday of a direct role in a sophisticated militant attack that killed five American troops in Iraq, portraying Tehran as waging a proxy war through Shiite extremists.

The claims over the January attack marked an escalation in U.S. accusations that Iran has been arming Iraqi militants, and for the first time linked the Iranian effort to its ally, Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militia. The allegations could endanger Iraqi efforts to hold a new round of talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner said the Quds Force, part of Iran's elite Republican Guards, was seeking to build an Iraqi version of Hezbollah to fight U.S. and Iraqi forces -- and had brought in Hezbollah operatives to help train and organize militants.

''Our intelligence reveals that the senior leadership in Iran is aware of this activity,'' Bergner told a Baghdad news conference. He said it would be ''hard to imagine'' that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not know about the activity.

Iran rejected the allegations, saying ''American leaders have gotten into the habit of issuing ridiculous and false statements.''

Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the allegations about Hezbollah were not surprising. ''Iran has always worked through Hezbollah, and it makes sense because Hezbollah is well-versed ... in this kind of ambiguous situation where there is sectarian violence and an outside occupation.''

WASHINGTON --Sen. Joe Lieberman repeated his call Monday for the United States to consider a military strike against Iran, saying Tehran is waging a "proxy war" by stoking anti-coalition violence in Iraq.

Iranian forces helped plan one of the most sophisticated militant assaults of the Iraq war -- a January raid in which gunmen posed as an American security team and launched an attack that killed five U.S. soldiers, an American general said Monday.

Lieberman said the news was a "wake-up call" to the United States.

Military strikes may be needed against Iranian camps suspected of being used to train and equip terrorists who are killing coalition troops in Iraq, Lieberman said. But he stopped short of outright calling for such an attack

BRUSSELS, July 2 (Reuters) - The European Union foreign policy chief suggested on Monday that Iran could be linked to the Hamas military takeover of Gaza, recent attacks on the Lebanese army, and on European peacekeepers in Lebanon.

AGENTS of Iran helped plan a January raid in Iraq's Shiite holy city of Karbala in which five American soldiers were killed by Islamic militants, a US general has alleged.

The charge was the most specific allegation of Iranian involvement in the attack and came at a time of rising tensions with Iran over its role in Iraq and its nuclear program.

Brigadier-General Kevin Bergner, the US military spokesman in Baghdad, said an elite unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, a force under the control of Iran's most powerful religious leaders, had used veterans of the Lebanese Islamic militia group Hezbollah as a "proxy" to train, arm and plan attacks by an array of Shiite militant cells in Iraq.

Brigadier-General Kevin J. Bergner, U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, speaks to the media at the heavily fortified Green Zone area in Baghdad July 2, 2007. (Wathiq Khuzaie/Pool/Reuters)

Brigadier-General Kevin J. Bergner, spokesman for the multi-national force in Iraq, speaks to the media next to a picture of Ali Mussa Daqduq, a captured senior Lebanese Hezbollah operative, at the heavily fortified Green Zone area in Baghdad July 2, 2007. (Wathiq Khuzaie/Pool/Reuters)

Brigadier-General Kevin J. Bergner, U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, speaks to the media next to a picture of Ali Mussa Daqduq, a captured senior Lebanese Hezbollah operative, at the heavily fortified Green Zone area in Baghdad July 2, 2007. Senior Iranian leaders know about the operations of Iran's Qods Force in fomenting violence in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Monday, in some of the most direct accusations yet against Tehran over the chaos in Iraq. REUTERS/Wathiq Khuzaie/Pool (IRAQ)

July 03, 2007
The Associated Press
Lee Keath
For Full Article visit:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/world/453161,CST-NWS-iraq03.article
BAGHDAD -- The U.S. military accused Iran on Monday of a direct role in a sophisticated militant attack that killed five American troops in Iraq, portraying Tehran as waging a proxy war through Shiite extremists.

The claims over the January attack marked an escalation in U.S. accusations that Iran has been arming Iraqi militants, and for the first time linked the Iranian effort to its ally, Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah militia. The allegations could endanger Iraqi efforts to hold a new round of talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner said the Quds Force, part of Iran's elite Republican Guards, was seeking to build an Iraqi version of Hezbollah to fight U.S. and Iraqi forces -- and had brought in Hezbollah operatives to help train and organize militants.

''Our intelligence reveals that the senior leadership in Iran is aware of this activity,'' Bergner told a Baghdad news conference. He said it would be ''hard to imagine'' that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not know about the activity.

On August 19,1978, in the southern city of Abadan, on the order of Ali Khamenei (Iran’s supreme leader) Cinema Rex was set ablaze by Islamic extremist in order to incite riots by blaming it on the Shah of Iran.

This was the most horrific incident of the 1978/79 revolution in Iran, in which according to the official figures 377 people were burnt alive,

Unofficially the figures ran as high as six to seven hundred people. The culprits who were Islamic revolutionaries chained and lockedthe exist doors to prevent the victims escape and hampered the firemen and the police’s efforts to rescue the victims.

After 27 years from this catastrophe, the western media still have not uncovered the story. In the pre-revolutionary days, When the western media was busy portraying Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as an innocent holy man in exile, his extremist followers were fueling the revolution by burning cinemas, cabarets and robbing banks to fund their activities and terrorizing women by spraying acid on their faces.

Shortly after the Islamist’s victory, during the early months of the new Islamic government in Iran, a few innocent individuals were tried and executed for this crime. Among them were the owner of the movie theater, its manager and even the police man who was patrolling the vicinity.

After the revolution in 1979, it was discovered that the crime was committed by the revolutionaries to fuel the publics’ anger.

Hossein Boroujerdi, one of the three people who delivered the chemical fuel to the city identifies Ali Khamenei (Iran’s supreme leader) as the person who provided them with the chemicals. This information is documented in Boroujerdi’s book by the title of “Behind The Islamic Revolution’s curtains, Confessions OF Hossein Boroujerdi” ISBN 3-93524966-7.

I urge all the human rights organizations, political leaders of the free world as well as the free western journalist to investigate and report this horrific crime. In the name of justice, humanity and social responsibility, we owe this to the victims and their families.

It is time to tell the story.

Ramin Etebar, MD

An Iranian-American physician ,
Political and Human Rights Activist.

The Tragedy of Cinema Rex in picture:

Above : Cinema Rex After burning down

Below : The large grave for people who lost their lives in CinemaRex and they were not identified. An estimate of 95 people areburied in this grave

Ali-Reza Asghari, the Iranian general who went missing in Turkey nearly half a year ago, is currently being held in a secure US intelligence facility, it was reported on Sunday. During his interrogation, Asghari gave over information on the running of the Iranian government and on the country's nuclear program, Yediot Aharonot reported.

Since Asghari's disappearance while on vacation in Istanbul in February, reports have circulated that the missing general had defected to a Western country, most likely the US. However, there has as yet been no confirmation of these reports.

According to Sunday's report, CIA agents contacted Asghari, who met them in Istanbul. Asghari even managed to get some of his family out of Iran and bring them with him to the US.

Asghari has since revealed new and relevant information about Iran's nuclear progress, saying that in addition to reactors and uranium enrichment facility centrifuges being built in the country, Iran has also developed the technology to enrich uranium with lasers.

Laser enrichment is a relatively old technique, but Iran has evidently added chemical enhancements that make the technology more advanced, the report said.

Asghari apparently acquired his knowledge during his time as a senior officer in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who were often responsible for guarding the country's nuclear facilities. He was also a member of the Iranian security council.

If true, Asghari's information would lend credence to Western concerns regarding the increasing danger of Iran's nuclear program.

Manama, Bahrain -- The United States navy has sent a third aircraft carrier to its Fifth Fleet area of operations, which includes [Persian] Gulf waters close to Iran, the navy said on Tuesday.

"Enterprise [aircraft carrier] provides navy power to counter the assertive, disruptive and coercive behaviour of some countries, as well as support our soldiers and marines in Iraq and Afghanistan," a US Navy statement said.

The move comes weeks after a flotilla of US warships sailed through the narrowest point in the [Persian] Gulf to hold exercises off Iran's coast in a major show of force.

Tension over Tehran's nuclear ambitions has raised regional fears of a military confrontation. Recent US naval presence in the [Persian] Gulf has been the largest since the 2003 Iraq war.

The Fifth Fleet area of operations includes the Arabian [Persian] Gulf, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Oman and parts of the Indian Ocean.